When Vice President Kamala Harris visited Cochise County, Arizona, on Friday, she was met by Sheriff Mark Dannels, who offered a mix of cautious optimism and a stark reality check.
While Dannels acknowledged that Harris’ visit was a positive step toward addressing border issues, his overall message was a reminder of the consequences of the Biden-Harris administration’s border policies.
With Harris being considered a potential future president, Dannels’ words carried added significance, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by border communities.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Dannels expressed his tempered approval of Harris’ trip, stating, “If we’re not engaging, we’re not talking, we can’t solve it.”
He saw the visit as a chance for dialogue but made it clear that his praise came with a dose of realism.
He planned to hand Harris a letter outlining the detrimental effects of the administration’s open-border policies, urging her to take meaningful action not just as the current vice president, but as someone who could soon lead the country.
“If she is elected as president, hopefully this will be a foundation she’ll remember,” Dannels said, emphasizing that he wanted to share the harsh realities his community faces.
The letter was meant to ensure that Harris could not later claim ignorance of the situation if she fails to address the ongoing border crisis.
Dannels’ approach was diplomatic, but his message was unmistakable: the border policies under the Biden-Harris administration have placed an immense burden on counties like Cochise.
As one of the many local officials dealing with the repercussions of these policies, Dannels has been outspoken in his criticism.
His letter wasn’t merely a report of the struggles but also a preemptive challenge to Harris’ potential future leadership, should she ignore the crisis.
Harris’ visit did little to suggest she was fully grasping the severity of the situation. According to the Associated Press, after meeting with local officials, including Dannels, she gave a speech that seemed out of touch with the current border crisis.
Harris emphasized that it was a “false choice” to suggest that securing the border and creating a humane system were mutually exclusive. “We can and we must do both,” she said.
For Sheriff Dannels and many others, Harris’ remarks came across as recycled political rhetoric.
Before the Biden administration, former President Donald Trump had made significant progress in securing the border, including a deal with Mexico to create a more orderly, controlled system.
However, the Biden-Harris administration reversed many of those policies, leading to what Dannels and others now describe as an escalating illegal immigration crisis.
The letter Dannels planned to give Harris was not just a formality but a pointed reminder of the impact her administration’s policies have had on communities like his. While Harris’ team may have dismissed Dannels’ words as partisan criticism, they reflect the frustrations of border officials who have been grappling with the fallout of federal inaction for years.
The illegal immigration crisis has affected both Democratic and Republican areas, spreading from border counties to major cities like New York, Chicago, and Boston.
For officials like Dannels, reminding Harris of her administration’s role in creating this crisis was more than just a political move—it was a plea for urgent action.
Whether Harris chooses to address the issue or not, the reality remains, and it weighs heavily on those most affected by it.
TRANSCRIPT:
CNN reporter: Are you in support of Trump’s proposal to do DNA testing on detained migrants, I believe, is what the proposal was? And then, how do you balance that with concerns about privacy and storing DNA data for children as young as, you know, 14 and younger? And then, separately, how are you preparing for the debate with Gallego? I know that’s a few weeks away.
Lake: I have a quick question for you. Do you think that 20 minutes on the border—a 20-minute visit by Kamala Harris—do you think a 20-minute visit by Kamala Harris was enough at the border? 20 minutes? I mean, that’s almost longer than CNN+ was around, just a little bit. Do you think 20 minutes was appropriate for Kamala Harris to spend at the border?… I mean, that’s just getting out of the car. That’s walking over to the border wall and maybe chatting with a Border Patrol agent or somebody who’s got information to impart on you. I don’t know how you even do a 20-minute visit. I can’t even fathom that. You know it’s not enough to cover the border, because if any of you went to the border and you have been there, I know that’s not enough to even get information.
President Trump wanted when they came across the border, 10, 12, or 13-year-old girls with two 35-year-old guys, who are saying that they’re relatives; I think it’s pretty appropriate to say, ‘you know what? We want to separate you two out.’ We’re going to get the two 35-year-old guys over here, and we’re going to separate those 10, 12, or 13-year-old girls and figure out if they’re really related, because, God forbid, those 12 and 13-year-old girls end up getting across the border with two 35-year-old guys who are sex traffickers. So, I think it’s absolutely appropriate to do any measure to make sure that the people they’re crossing the border with are indeed family… But better yet, what’s going to happen starting in January is anybody who gets across illegally, we’re going to stop them at the border, we’re going to make sure of who they are, and we’re going to send them back to their families. I want those girls back in the arms of their loving families in whatever country they came from. So I do approve of making sure that they are indeed with family, and then we want to make sure if there are sex traffickers that they are sent back and they’re put in prison.
CNN reporter: How are you preparing for the debate with Gallego?
Lake: I feel like I’m pretty much prepared. I know what time it is with that guy. I mean, I know his record. It’s literally, his record on his bad votes is about this deep. And you know his fraudulent background, where he defrauded Latino immigrants out of their life savings, and he defrauded Medicare, and he walked out on his wife when she was nine months pregnant. And, you know, there’s so much garbage in this guy’s background, and I’m shocked that you guys don’t cover that. Every day, if I sneeze in the wrong direction, you guys write a hit piece on me… If you’re going to lie about this kind of stuff, you’re going to lie directly to the American people. And shame on you guys for not covering it. I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, but it’s been despicable, the coverage of Ruben Gallego. Every single vote he has cast has hurt the people of Arizona. I can’t think of one that’s helped us. And he also skips out on a lot of votes, by the way. He’s got a truancy record that’s a mile long. It’s like twice as bad as even the worst people, the worst offenders. None of this is being covered by the media. You’re trying to let him skate into the Senate and, by damned, I’ll stop it. I’m going to stop it because I care about this state. I actually live in this state. And on federal forms, he said he lives in Washington, DC; that’s his main residence.
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